Enforcement

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents arrested four men for alleged oyster harvesting violations on Dec. 16 in Terrebonne Parish.

Agents arrested Alfredo De-Laoanaya, 21, of Houma, Francisco Maradingo-Ruiz, 34, of Houma, Esteban Morelos-Reyes, 60, of Houma, and Eliazar Martine-Macedo, 28, of Beaumont, Texas, for take oysters during a closed season on the Sister Lake Public Oyster Seed Reservation and taking oysters during illegal hours. The captain of the vessel, De-Laoanaya, was also cited for violating the log book and vessel sanitation requirements sanitation codes, improper running lights, and improper boat numbers.

On Dec. 16, LDWF agents were notified about someone harvesting oysters during a closed season off of the Sister Lake Seed Reservation. Agents setup surveillance and observed a vessel in the open water of Sister Lake dredging for oysters.

Agents stopped the vessel shortly before 6 p.m. and found the four men in possession of 60 sacks of oysters. Agents seized the vessel, two oyster dredges and returned the oysters to the water. The men were booked into the Terrebonne Parish Jail.

The Sister Lake Public Oyster Seed Reservation is closed for the 2014/15 season.

Taking oysters during illegal hours carries a $900 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Taking oysters during a closed season brings a $900 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Having improper running lights and improper boat numbers carries up to a $50 fine and 15 days in jail for each offense. Violating the logbook sanitation code and vessel sanitation requirements each carries up to a $25 fine and up to 10 days in jail for each offense.

Jessie Gainey, 45, pleaded guilty to his second offense of theft of crab traps in the 25th Judicial District Court of Plaquemines Parish. Judge Michael Clement sentenced him to a fine of $250 plus court costs and a suspended jail term of six months.

Judge Clement also ordered Gainey to surrender his 2014 crab trap license. Gainey is also prohibited of being on any commercial crab boat as a deckhand or captain and possessing a crab trap license until 2017. He is also barred from selling crabs for the period of his license revocation.

The plea stems from an incident that occurred on July 9, 2014 when Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents arrested Gainey for removing the contents of crab traps that were not owned by him, failing to mark crab traps and theft of crab traps.

Agents set up surveillance on a line of crab traps in Grandpa Bayou in Port Sulphur. Agents watched Gainey run a line of crab traps and empty the contents into his vessel. Agents found the traps in Gainey’s boat untagged, tags cut and some with Gainey’s commercial fisherman’s tag on top of another fisherman’s tag.

Robert White with District Attorney Charles Ballay’s office prosecuted the case. LDWF Investigating agents were Sgt. Adam Young and Agent Travis Bartlett.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division agents cited seven men for oyster fishing violations in the past month on the Sister Lake Public Oyster Seed Reservation in Terrebonne Parish.

On Nov. 7, agents cited Angel Torres-Cuevas, 36, of Houma, for taking oysters during a closed season and taking oysters from a polluted area. Agents seized his oyster dredge and dumped a sack of oysters back into the water.

Agents cited Policarpo D. Olivier, 41, and Maximo Aguilar-Lara, 32, both of Houma, for taking oysters during a closed season on Nov. 10. Agents dumped 12 sacks of oysters back into the water and seized Olivier’s two dredges.

On Dec. 1, agents cited Alfredo Oanaya, 31, of Houma, Eliazar Macedo, 28, of Beaumont, Texas, Esteban Reyes-Morelos, of Houma, and Francisco Ruiz-Maradiaga, 34, of Houma, for taking oysters during a closed season and for using an illegal dredge. Agents also cited the captain, Oanaya, for violating the logbook sanitation code. Agents seized two dredges and dumped 10 sacks of oysters back into the water.

The Sister Lake Public Oyster Seed Reservation is closed for the 2014/15 oyster season.

Taking oysters during a closed season brings a $900 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Taking oysters from a polluted area carries a $400 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Using an illegal dredge brings a $100 to $350 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Violating the logbook sanitation code carries up to a $25 fine and up to 10 days in jail.

LDWF Sgt. Charles Dison cited Jason Ivey, 46, for taking over the daily limit of antlered deer, taking over the season limit of antlered deer and failing to comply with deer tagging requirements.

Sgt. Dison stopped Ivey’s truck on Highway 71 after observing two deer on an all-terrain vehicle in the bed of Ivey’s truck without tags.

After further investigation, Dison found that Ivey had an antlerless tag attached to a spike buck that was not filled out. Both deer in the bed of the truck were antlered deer. Dison also found that Ivey had already harvested two antlered deer already this season putting these two antlered deer one over his season limit of three.

Possessing over the daily and season limit of deer each brings a $250 to $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail for each offense. Failing to comply with deer tagging requirements carries a $100 to $350 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Ivey could also face civil restitution charges of $1,624 for the replacement value of the deer.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division is asking the public for help about deer hunting and trespassing violations that occurred in Rapides Parish on Nov. 22.

A landowner alerted agents about a photo that his game camera took of two men with deer at 8:37 p.m. on Nov. 22 in the Kolin and Effie area of Rapides Parish. In the photo one man has a deer draped around his back to haul it out of the area and the other man lying on the ground to drape another deer to his back for transportation.

LDWF is offering up to a $1,000 reward for anybody that volunteers information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case. Anyone with tips or leads can call LDWF’s Operation Game Thief’s (OGT) toll free hotline at 1-800-442-2511 or text LDWF OGT by texting LADWF and their tip to 847411. Tipsters can also download the LADWF Tips iPhone and Android apps from iTunes and Google Play stores free of charge.

Agents believe that the men were trespassing on private land without permission and may have committed other deer hunting violations such as hunting during illegal hours and with lights or night vision.

Agents observed the hunters shooting ducks and leaving the field without making an effort to retrieve several dead and crippled birds. Agents found a total of 14 ducks left in the field or concealed under their duck blind. Agents seized a total of 38 ducks, which are 14 over the legal limit for the four hunters.

LDWF agents conducted a joint investigation with Arkansas Game and Fish and discovered that Currie was in possession of both Louisiana resident and Arkansas resident hunting licenses. According to Currie he had killed one deer in Arkansas and three deer in Louisiana.

After a brief interview with Louisiana and Arkansas agents, Currie was cited for his violations in Louisiana and Arkansas.

Taking over the limit of ducks, intentional concealment of wildlife evidence and wanton waste each brings up to a $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Obtaining a license by fraud carries a $250 to $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. Hunting without non-resident licenses brings a $100 to $350 fine and up to 60 days in jail.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agents arrested a Jones man for deer hunting and narcotics violations on November 17 in Morehouse Parish.

Agents arrested Cody L. Pollock, 23, for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession of synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Agents also charged Pollock with taking over the daily limit of deer and two counts of failing to comply with deer tagging requirements.

Agents responded to Pollock's address to question him in reference to a complaint he had taken over the limit of deer. Pollock opened the door to his home and agents witnessed and smelled marijuana smoke.

Upon questioning, Pollock told agents he had a substantial amount of marijuana inside his travel trailer and two antlerless deer that he took that morning quartered. Agents recovered two quart sized bags of marijuana, 11 individually wrapped baggies for individual sale and the two quartered antlerless deer.

Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute brings five to 30 years in prison and up to $50,000 in fines. Possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia each carries up to a $500 fine and up to six months in jail for each offense. Possessing over the legal daily limit of deer brings a $250 to $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Failing to tag a deer carries a $100 to $350 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Pollock may also face civil restitution of $1,624 for the illegally taken deer.

A New Orleans man pleaded guilty to the illegal selling of game fish violations on Nov. 18 in the New Orleans Municipal Court in Orleans Parish.

Judge Desiree Charbonnet sentenced Paul Haptonstall, 35, to 120 days of imprisonment suspended and fined him $3,730.80 for the illegal selling of game fish.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division agents cited Haptonstall on June 13, 2014 in New Orleans for illegal selling of game fish and undersized fish.

Agents started the investigation after receiving complaints about the subject selling red drum in the New Orleans area. Haptonstall sold a total of 11 black drum, three sheepshead, two spotted seatrout, two catfish and 138 red drum to Special Operation agents throughout the investigation.

Agents involved in the case were the LDWF Special Operations Section, Sgt. Kris Bourgeois and Agent Jeffrey Farmer.

A Monterey man was sentenced in 7th Judicial District Court in Concordia Parish on Nov. 14 for illegal night hunting.

Judge Kathy Johnson sentenced Duell S. Moreland, 24, to 60 months of hard labor with 40 months suspended, 30 days in jail and to a 15-year no hunting ban.

Agents from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) arrested Moreland on Jan. 31, 2014. The agents observed Moreland night hunting on foot on an All-Terrain Vehicle trail located on the Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The agents were able to make contact with Moreland after a brief chase.

Moreland was found hunting after hours with a cross bow equipped with a night vision scope along with a .444 primitive rifle.

Moreland was booked into jail for hunting deer during illegal hours, failing to comply with deer tagging requirements, resisting an officer, hunting deer using illegal methods, using a firearm/archery equipped with illegal sights and not possessing a resident hunting license. The agents seized all the equipment.

A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agent cited two Louisiana men for alleged night hunting violations on Nov. 12 in Franklin Parish.

Agents cited Claude B. Roberts, 24, and Cody A. Barton, 27, both from Fort Necessity for taking a deer during illegal hours, hunting from a public road and hunting from a moving vehicle. Barton was also cited for discharging a firearm from a public road.

According to the men they were in a vehicle and shined a deer with a spotlight from a public road in Franklin Parish around 9 p.m. Barton then shot and killed a spiked deer from the vehicle.

After shooting the deer, the men saw a vehicle coming and attempted to flee the area and wrecked their truck in the process of leaving. The Franklin Parish Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a person near where they crashed their truck.

LDWF Senior Agent Johnny Wilson made contact with the men at the scene and cited the men.

Taking deer during illegal hours brings a $900 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Hunting from a public road and discharging a firearm from a public road each carries a $100 to $350 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Hunting from a moving vehicle brings a $250 to $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. Barton may also face civil restitution of $1,624 for the illegally taken deer.